HJC/HB 126
Page 1
AN ACT
RELATING TO DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING
LIQUOR OR DRUGS; REQUIRING AN IGNITION INTERLOCK LICENSE PRIOR
TO ISSUANCE OF A NEW MEXICO DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR CERTAIN
PERSONS WHO HAVE DWI CONVICTIONS IN OTHER STATES; RECONCILING
MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAWS IN LAWS 2005;
PROVIDING A FEE; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 66-5-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,
Chapter 35, Section 227, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 241,
Section 1 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 269, Section 1) is amended
to read:
"66-5-5. PERSONS NOT TO BE LICENSED.--The division
shall not issue a driver's license under the Motor Vehicle
Code to any person:
A. who is under the age of eighteen years, except
the division may, in its discretion, issue:
(1) an instruction permit to a person
fifteen years of age or over who is enrolled in and attending
or has completed a driver education course that includes a DWI
education and prevention component approved by the bureau or
offered by a public school;
(2) a provisional license to any person
fifteen years and six months of age or older:
pg_0002
HJC/HB 126
Page 2
(a) who has completed a driver
education course approved by the bureau or offered by a public
school that includes a DWI education and prevention component
and has had an instruction permit for at least six months; and
(b) who has successfully completed a
practice driving component;
(3) a driver's license to any person sixteen
years and six months of age or older:
(a) who has had a provisional license
for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of
the application for the driver's license;
(b) who has complied with restrictions
on that license;
(c) who has not been convicted of a
traffic violation that was committed during the ninety days
prior to applying for a driver's license; and
(d) who has not been adjudicated for an
offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs during that
period and who has no pending adjudications alleging an
offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs at the time of
application; and
(4) to any person thirteen years of age or
older who passes an examination prescribed by the division, a
license restricted to the operation of a motorcycle, provided:
(a) the motorcycle is not in excess of
pg_0003
HJC/HB 126
Page 3
one hundred cubic centimeters displacement;
(b) no holder of an initial license may
carry any other passenger while driving a motorcycle; and
(c) the director approves and certifies
motorcycles as not in excess of one hundred cubic centimeters
displacement and by rule provides for a method of
identification of such motorcycles by all law enforcement
officers;
B. whose license or driving privilege has been
suspended or denied, during the period of suspension or
denial, or to any person whose license has been revoked,
except as provided in Section 66-5-32 NMSA 1978 and the
Ignition Interlock Licensing Act;
C. who is an habitual user of narcotic drugs or
alcohol or an habitual user of any drug to a degree that
renders the person incapable of safely driving a motor
vehicle;
D. who is four or more times convicted of driving
a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating
liquor or narcotic drug regardless of whether the convictions
are under the laws or ordinances of this state or any
municipality or county of this state or under the laws or
ordinances of any other state, the District of Columbia or any
governmental subdivision thereof, except as provided in the
Ignition Interlock Licensing Act. Five years from the date of
pg_0004
HJC/HB 126
Page 4
the fourth conviction and every five years thereafter, the
person may apply to any district court of this state for
restoration of the license, and the court, upon good cause
being shown, may order restoration of the license applied for;
provided that the person has not been subsequently convicted
of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drugs. Upon issuance of the order of
restoration, a certified copy shall immediately be forwarded
to the division, and if the person is otherwise qualified for
the license applied for, the four previous convictions shall
not prohibit issuance of the license;
E. who was convicted on or after June 17, 2005 of
driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drugs pursuant to the laws or
ordinances of any other state, the District of Columbia or any
governmental subdivision thereof, unless the person obtains an
ignition interlock license as provided in the Ignition
Interlock Licensing Act for a period of one year for a first
conviction; a period of two years for a second conviction; a
period of three years for a third conviction; or the remainder
of the offender's life for a fourth or subsequent conviction,
subject to a five-year review as provided in Subsection D of
this section. Upon presentation of proof satisfactory to the
division, the division may credit time spent by a person
operating a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock or
pg_0005
HJC/HB 126
Page 5
comparable device, as a condition of the person's sentence for
a conviction in another jurisdiction pursuant to this
subsection, against the ignition interlock time requirements
imposed by this subsection. The division shall promulgate
rules necessary for granting credit to persons who participate
in comparable out-of-state programs following a conviction for
driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drugs. The requirements of this
subsection shall not apply to a person who applies for a
driver's license ten years or more from the date of the
person's last conviction, except for a person who is subject
to lifetime driver's license revocation for a conviction in
another jurisdiction pursuant to this subsection;
F. who has previously been afflicted with or who
is suffering from any mental disability or disease that would
render the person unable to drive a motor vehicle with safety
upon the highways and who has not, at the time of application,
been restored to health;
G. who is required by the Motor Vehicle Code to
take an examination, unless the person has successfully passed
the examination;
H. who is required under the laws of this state to
deposit proof of financial responsibility and who has not
deposited the proof;
I. when the director has good cause to believe
pg_0006
HJC/HB 126
Page 6
that the operation of a motor vehicle on the highways by the
person would be inimical to public safety or welfare; or
J. as a motorcycle driver who is less than
eighteen years of age and who has not presented a certificate
or other evidence of having successfully completed a
motorcycle driver education program licensed or offered in
conformance with rules of the bureau."
Section 2. Section 66-5-44 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,
Chapter 35, Section 266, as amended) is amended to read:
"66-5-44. LICENSES AND PERMITS--DURATION AND FEE--
APPROPRIATION.--
A. There shall be paid to the department a fee of
ten dollars ($10.00) for each driver's license or duplicate
driver's license, except that for a driver's license issued
for an eight-year period, a fee of twenty dollars ($20.00)
shall be paid to the department. Each license shall be for a
term provided for in Section 66-5-21 NMSA 1978.
B. For each permit and instruction permit, there
shall be paid to the department a fee of two dollars ($2.00).
The term for each permit shall be as provided in Sections
66-5-8 and 66-5-9 NMSA 1978.
C. The director with the approval of the governor
may increase the amount of the fees provided for in this
section by an amount not to exceed three dollars ($3.00) for
the purpose of implementing an enhanced driver's license
pg_0007
HJC/HB 126
Page 7
system; provided that for a driver's license issued for an
eight-year period, the amount of the fees shall be twice the
amount charged for other driver's licenses. The additional
amounts collected pursuant to this subsection are appropriated
to the department to defray the expense of the new system of
licensing.
D. There shall be paid to the department a driver
safety fee of three dollars ($3.00) for each driver's license
or duplicate driver's license, except that for a driver's
license issued for an eight-year period, a fee of six dollars
($6.00) shall be paid to the department. The fee shall be
distributed to each school district for the purpose of
providing defensive driving instruction through the state
equalization guarantee distribution made annually pursuant to
the general appropriation act.
E. The department may charge a fee of no more than
fifteen dollars ($15.00) to a person who holds a driver's
license from another state and is applying for a New Mexico
driver's license for the first time. The fee is appropriated
to the department to defray the expense of determining whether
the driver has been convicted of driving a motor vehicle while
under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or
equivalent crime, and determining if the person qualifies for
a driver's license in this state. The fee provided in this
section is not subject to the increase provided for in
pg_0008
HJC/HB 126
Page 8
Subsection C of this section."
Section 3. Section 66-5-502 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,
Chapter 239, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"66-5-502. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Ignition
Interlock Licensing Act:
A. "denied" means having an instructor's permit,
driver's license or provisional license denied for driving
while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs,
pursuant to the provisions of Subsection D or E of Section
66-5-5 NMSA 1978;
B. "ignition interlock device" means a device,
approved by the traffic safety bureau, that prevents the
operation of a motor vehicle by an intoxicated or impaired
person;
C. "ignition interlock license" means a driver's
license issued to a person by the division that allows that
person to operate a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock
device after that person's instructor's permit, driver's
license or provisional license has been revoked or denied.
The division shall clearly mark an ignition interlock license
to distinguish it from other driver's licenses; and
D. "revoked" means having an instructor's permit,
driver's license or provisional license revoked for driving
while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs,
pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-8-102 or 66-8-111
pg_0009
NMSA 1978."
Section 4. APPROPRIATION.--One million one hundred
thousand dollars ($1,100,000) is appropriated from the general
fund to the taxation and revenue department for expenditure in
fiscal year 2008 for expenses related to verifying
qualifications for driver's licenses and issuing ignition
interlock licenses. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance
remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall revert to the
general fund.
Section 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2007.
HJC/HB 126
Page 9